Tangent
by BBC Addict
Summary: Slight episode rewrite of s4ep12 Tangent. Jack and Teal'c are trapped in a death glider headed out of the solar system. Sam and Daniel have only one remaining option to get to them in time.


**A/N: Slight rewrite of the season four episode Tangent, picking up just before Jacob rings Sam and Daniel aboard his ship and focusing exclusively on their side of things. Watch the episode if you want the full experience.**

* * *

Sam and Daniel crouched in the undergrowth at what they hoped was a safe distance from the Goa'uld activity. Sam studied the area through her night vision binoculars. "We may have to go in through the mine," she told Daniel.

"What about contacting the operative by radio?" Daniel asked, clearly not thrilled about the prospect of attempting to sneak into a Jaffa-filled mine.

Sam's reply was cut short by the unexpected and telltale sound of a ring transporter activating around them.

Moments later, Sam and Daniel found themselves inside a Tel'tak. Sam quickly took stock of the empty room and aimed her P-90 at the door.

The door swished open. "Samantha? Doctor Jackson?" Martouf's tone indicated more concern than pleasure at their presence.

"Martouf!" Sam cried in relief. Her smile was quickly replaced by a hurt and confused frown as another person barreled into the room, cursing them for their stupidity and poor timing.

Sam barely registered her father's words. Jack was drifting further away every second and up until now she hadn't permitted herself to feel. She'd shoved her concern into a corner and went to work figuring out how to get him back; Teal'c, too. But suddenly, face-to-face with her father's wrath, Martouf's frustratingly soulful gaze, and the knowledge that their interference with a Tok'ra mission was sure to come back to haunt their already strained relationship, her emotions thundered to the surface. She finally registered that her father had done shouting abuse at them and was apparently waiting for some explanation. Sam cast a pleading look at Daniel. She doubted she could explain coherently right now and they couldn't spare the time.

"Jack and Teal'c are stranded in a glider that's been programmed to return to Apophis' homeworld and we have no way to reach them."

Jacob pursed his lips momentarily. "Good enough." He turned on his heel and headed toward the cockpit.

Daniel hurried after Jacob, leaving Sam and Martouf alone. "Are you all right, Samantha?" Martouf asked gently.

Sam swallowed hard. Her relationship with Martouf was weird enough without dragging her feelings regarding Jack into the mix. "No," she admitted, "but I'll be fine once we get the Colonel and Teal'c home safe."

Martouf smiled slightly. "How exactly did they come to be stranded in a glider?"

Sam grimaced. "Dad'll want to hear this, too, and I really don't want to explain twice."

Martouf nodded and extended a hand to pull Sam off the floor. "Then we should join them."

* * *

"What were you thinking, anyway, retrofitting a death glider?" Jacob scolded. "You should have known better. The technology you're screwing around with is way over your head!"

Sam pushed herself off the seat she'd taken. "That is the most arrogant-! I can't believe that just came out of your mouth!" she shouted.

"It's the truth!"

Sam had to bite back an entirely inappropriate comeback.

Jacob continued. "You've got to learn to take small steps. You can't just slap a US Air Force sticker on the side of a death glider and call it yours. Advancement like that has to be earned."

Martouf studiously ignored the familial discord and absorbed himself in examining a nearby control panel.

Daniel, a bit provoked himself, decided to try to step in to keep Sam from killing her father. "Aren't the Goa'uld, and the Tok'ra, for that matter, where they are by stealing technology from other races?"

"The Tok'ra were flying around in ships like these when most of the people on Earth thought it was flat," Jacob retorted.

"But they weren't always," Daniel pressed.

"That's-"

Jacob's reply was cut off by an explosion. Martouf glanced at a number of readings and then reluctantly nodded at Jacob. "We have overtaxed the drives."

"Can you fix it?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Sure," Jacob replied as he stood up. Martouf headed out of the cockpit and Jacob began to follow. "We can get the drives back online in a few minutes. Making sure we have a few minutes will be the difficult part."

Daniel, looking out the front viewer, said, "Is that what I think it is?" Two Ha'tak vessels hovered nearby.

"Yeah. This isn't exactly a nice part of town. Can you speak with the Goa'uld dialect?" Jacob asked, looking expectantly at Daniel.

"Dialect? Yes, but-"

"That's all you need," Jacob interrupted. "Place your hand here, speak, then take away your hand and it'll broadcast."

"What am I supposed to say?" Daniel demanded.

"Use your imagination," Jacob called back. "Sam, we could use your help."

Sam threw Daniel a less than reassuring smile and followed her father.

Daniel couldn't help but jump as the sound of an angry Goa'uld filled the cockpit. "Kree tal shal mak! Heru'Ur!"

Daniel hesitated a moment. "Mak tal shree! Lo tak meta satak Oz!" he replied.

Another voice repeated his words incredulously.

"Mak tal Oz kree!" Daniel insisted.

The two voices seemed unimpressed and became increasingly threatening.

Jacob appeared again, Sam trailing. "Martouf will be finished any second,"

"Good, because I don't think those guys bought my act."

Jacob narrowed his eyes. "Why? Who did you say you were?"

"The...great and powerful Oz," Daniel admitted sheepishly.

Jacob rolled his eyes as he reclaimed the pilot's seat.

"The great and powerful Oz?" Martouf repeated as he joined them. "I regret that I am not familiar with that name."

Sam just shook her head as the ship jumped back into hyperspace. "It's kind of a joke, a way of saying you're pretending to be something you're not."

Martouf nodded but continued to look puzzled. "It's an Earth thing," Sam concluded lamely.

"I'm assuming you have a better plan with regard to rescuing Jack and Teal'c," Jacob said.

"We were sort of hoping you could just...beam them out," Daniel ventured.

"What am I, Scotty?"

Martouf looked confused again, but Sam didn't bother trying to explain this time. "Actually, Dad, I think I have an idea."

* * *

Sam felt yet another moment of helplessness as the Tel'tak hovered outside the X-301. The lack of oxygen had apparently left both Jack and Teal'c unconscious. She spoke into the radio. "Damn it, Jack! I didn't come all this way to take you home in a box! Now, wake up!" Her words were punctuated by Jacob giving the glider a firm nudge with the Tel'tak.

"Jack!" Sam called again.

Jack's eyes struggled open. "Sam?" he managed weakly. He looked around and finally spotted Sam. She gave him a tiny wave and a big grin. "Carter?" he said, more firmly.

"Yes, sir!" she said, slipping back into professionalism. "We're getting you out of there, sir." She patiently repeated instructions to him, trying not to giggle at how he cute he was when he was oxygen-deprived.

* * *

"Three, two, one, mark!" Sam cried.

She rushed from the window to the transport pad. The rings disappeared and reappeared, bringing Jack and Teal'c with them. Daniel checked Teal'c and Sam checked Jack. Sam beamed a relieved smile at Daniel. "They're ok!" Daniel called. Jacob quietly sighed in relief and radioed the news back to the SGC.

Jack took a moment to return to himself. "Jacob! Thanks for stopping by!"

"I was in the neighborhood. You need a lift home?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you," Jack said, a little more seriously.

Daniel threw a brief glance at Jack. "So, Teal'c," he said.

"Yes, Daniel Jackson?"

"Why don't we find somewhere more comfortable to sit for the...short...journey home," he faltered, looking meaningfully at Sam, then Jack, then back to Teal'c.

"Indeed." Teal'c stood up. "It is good to see you again, Martouf. I am pleased the procedure to deactivate the Za'tarc programming was successful."

Martouf nodded and followed Daniel and Teal'c away. "I am pleased as well."

Having some semblance of privacy, Sam plopped down next to Jack. "I knew you'd figure something out," Jack said, casually draping his arm around her shoulders.

"Did you? I wasn't sure." She nestled her head into the crook of his neck.

"Thanks for the reassurance," Jack said sarcastically. "Thanks," he said again, whispering into her ear, earnest for a moment. "I'd hate to have to tell you goodbye with everyone on the base listening in."

Sam chuckled humorlessly. "It's hard to be court-martialed when you're dead."

Jack ignored the comment. "I think I feel some leave coming up."

"Fishing again?" Sam inquired.

Jack shook his head. "You always do what I say, Carter. You give the orders for once."

She grinned up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"But," he hastened to add, "no physics, no math, no saving the world..."

"I have an idea or two."

* * *

**A/N: Martouf lives! Read my rewrite of Divide and Conquer if you haven't yet. I think that both Jacob and Martouf fit Anise's description as 'important to us both.' He might not be particularly helpful here, but it's always fun to have aliens exposed to pop culture, and I think having him around would contribute to Sam's emotional partial collapse. ****  
**


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